If you would like the powerpoint for this sermon, email me with the title of the sermon in the subject line.
Matthew 20:1-16
“Something Beautiful”
“The beautiful part of Grace is that we don’t deserve it.”
Sunday Morning Sermon
10.21.07
Intro: (Start with title and text)
Every week I come up with insightful and intriguing ways to start the sermons. One preacher said this – My job is to speak, your job is to listen, if you get finished before I do – let me know. This morning – we are going to build the introduction for the sermon together – I need your help. If you were going to name some of the characteristics of God – where would you start? If you know a word that describes God – just name it. You will click 16 times, prompting the people to read off the names. Good, Loving, Perfect, Holy, Eternal, Patient, Wise, Protector, Powerful, Fatherly, Passionate, Understanding, Unchanging, kind, gracious… All of those words describe God – There is something beautiful about God – His grace. We use words like – Wonderful, Matchless, and Amazing to describe Grace. Regardless of who you are, what you’ve done, how far you’ve come, how much you’ve grown, or the way you make Him known in your life – we are all in need of the grace of God. Let me ask you this could the grace of God be ugly or unfair?
Discussion:
August 5, 2007 – Ben was baptized. Who wouldn’t offer little Ben the grace of God? You can’t get any cuter, you can’t get any sweeter than little Ben – that kind of Grace would be easy. If everyone who received the grace of God were like Ben – it would be easy. What happens when prison ministry works and people who have done some rotten things – come and accept Jesus? Is the grace of God still beautiful if it’s embraced by someone who is not? The short answer is yes – after all God loves everyone, right? So it’s ok that he loves those who are unlovable – those who are unworthy – and those who might even not do the things with his love that we would.
Open your Bibles to Matthew 20:1-16 (Read) (Advance)
This is a picture of something beautiful. It’s a horrible way to run a business. But an excellent way to deal with eternity. This speaks deeply about the grace we receive – I see three things this morning about the grace that we have.
(Advance)
I. Grace is from God to us (1-7)
a. Through the person of Jesus (Advance)
Titus 2:11-12 – (NIV) For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
i. It teaches us – we learn when we apply God’s grace to our lives.
ii. It helps us grow – We grow when we apply God’s grace to our lives.
Chuck Swindoll said, “To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it.”
b. The story – Jesus starts off with the kingdom of heaven is like….
At least ten times in the gospel of Matthew Jesus teaches us about the kingdom of heaven through parables.
c. The landowner – went out early in the morning to hire men to work his vineyard –
i. The Jewish work day – Began at 6:00am
This was probably harvest time – Late September – If the crops were late – the rush would be on to get the harvest complete before the fall rains.
ii. He agrees to pay the workers a denarius for the day –
1. It’s a bargain – the same wage as a roman soldier
2. It was a good fair deal – they accepted.
d. He goes back to the marketplace – about the third hour 9:00am
i. He hires more workers – “I will pay you whatever is right”
NCV ’If you go and work in my vineyard, I will pay you what your work is worth.’
ii. They agree – They head out to the fields and begin their work
He goes back to the marketplace – about the 6th hour – 12:00 (noon); 9th hour – 3:00pm; again at the 11th hour – 5:00pm and hires even more workers – One commentary suggests that the 5:00 workers are the ones no one else wanted, but this man isn’t picky. He’s probably trying to finish up the harvest. Their day started at 6am – it ends at 6pm.
Everything to this point seems normal – You have your landowner – a field of fruit ready for harvest – and workers that will harvest the crop – all very normal. If grace worked like that it wouldn’t be amazing and matchless. If grace were calculated or based on the goodness of those receiving it – it wouldn’t be Amazing and matchless. It wouldn’t be worthy of our singing, or our celebration. Here’s what makes grace amazing (Advance)
II. Grace is not based on the work we’ve done (8-12)
According to Jewish law – at the close of the day a worker was to receive their pay. So gathering the workers together for payment was normal – and expected.
a. Everyone gathers together – the last ones hired are first
Those hired at 5:00 and worked one hour received the same as those who started at 6:00 in the morning.
You can understand their excitement seeing those who worked one hour getting a full days pay – what would those who worked all day get…they are seeing dollar signs. But when they get the same pay
b. The early workers – begin to grumble
i. They’ve been in the field all day
ii. They’ve worked in the hot sun
iii. They’ve worked with perfect obedience –
Sounds like another story – remember, the obedient older brother – slaving in the field all day for the father? Younger son comes back – older brother begins to grumble. Get real honest here:
c. Maybe they had reason to complain –
i. The late workers – did very little work
ii. What they did accomplish was in the very best conditions – they were hardly dirty – their backs didn’t hurt – their arms weren’t sore.
If we are going to read this to understand the grace of God – No, thanks, I’ll sign up for the last group. Why slave and work and get yourself down – so that you get the same pay as the person who barely knows where the time clock is? Where do I sign up to get ripped off like that?
Listen church – grace is not based on the work we’ve done. You receive the grace of God, not because you are so wonderful, and you’re good people – it’s not based on resumes or the work you do in the church.
It is based on his complete unmerited favor – you don’t deserve salvation, you don’t deserve to spend eternity with Jesus in heaven, you don’t deserve to have the mansion that Jesus is preparing for you – Listen – If we have all sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God we are separated from God – we are spaced out, blacked out, knocked out and marked out -- we don’t deserve heaven. What Jesus did through the cross he did for the good, the bad the ugly, the old, the young – but what he did was take the punishment for your sin and mine. Regardless of how good we believe we are, how much we think we deserve, the truth is, all of what we get is based on the grace of GOD.
I’m going to make an assumption this morning – I’m going to assume that some of you can relate with those who clocked in at 6am. You’ve been faithful. You’ve worked hard. You worked when you were called. You have done and are doing with your life what you are supposed to do. Here’s something – the 6am shift should grasp – (Advance)
III. Grace is generous & That’s OK! (13-16)
a. After the grumbling – the complaining
i. The landowner answers the group’s leader
Friend – I am not unfair – you got what you agreed to work for. It’s not unfair.
b. God can do what he wants to do
We are blessed because of it. We are the ones who receive the beautiful gift of grace. We are the ones who receive the cherished gift of his love. Every day there is proof of God’s love in my life – Everyday – without exception. I just have to look for it – honestly, some days the eyes start hurting – but everyday we are given a view into what God has done for us, and How God has demonstrated his perfect love for us.
c. If God wants to be generous – we should too (Advance)
Let me explain how you can be selfish with this thing called grace -- (Advance)
i. Believe that it’s only for you –
That will cause you to protect it; that will cause you to keep people away from it. Be uninviting – what we call “not seeker friendly” (Advance)
ii. Believe that it’s something you’ve earned –
Roll out the resume with all the Sunday school you’ve taught, church attendance pins, and the stack of humble buttons, all the youth you’ve sponsored, times when you’ve spoken up for the preacher – that counts for something (Advance)
iii. Believe that it’s about your present condition.
Listen – because I’m going to make this one very clear – unless you are about to die – grace is not about your present condition. Grace is about where you are today – but also tomorrow and in the future – 5 and 10 years down the road. If you accept grace over your life now, and in 10 years – you deny that same grace – what good is it? Church, you must continue to ask for and receive God’s grace over your life. What I mean is – you have to change your actions – it means repentance – I can’t watch things I shouldn’t – ask for God’s grace and then turn the TV on again. Eventually – according to Hebrews it becomes something other than repentance, and you lose the grace. Jonah says this: (Advance) Jonah 2:8 – NIV "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. Here’s the last one (Advance)
iv. Stay inside the house – when the party is outside
Grumble because someone came in later than you – and has or will get as much as you, when the truth is – neither of you are getting what you deserve. Listen – what you should do – is join them in their celebration – join them in their freedom from sin – walk with them – grow with them – become more than you are together. That is the Christian call on your life – that is how we change the world.
Conclusion:
A story is told about Fiorello LaGuardia, who, when he was mayor of New York City during the worst days of the Great Depression and all of World War II, was called by many New Yorkers “the Little Flower” because he was only five foot four and always wore a carnation in his lapel. He was a colorful character who used to ride the New Your City fire trucks, raid speakeasies with the police department, take entire orphanages to baseball games, and whenever the New York newspapers were on strike, he would go on the radio and read the Sunday funnies to the kids. One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward in the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself.
Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia that her daughter’s husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen, effused to drop the charges. “It’s a real bad neighborhood, your Honor.” The man told the mayor. “She’s got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson.”
LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said, “I’ve got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions – ten dollars or den days in jail.” But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his hat saying, “Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr. Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant.”
The following day the New York City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, while some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and New York policemen, each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.
Here is my question for you. Did the elderly lady in the story get what she deserved? Clearly the answer is, of course not. She had stolen a loaf of bread. Yes, she may have had good reason, but stealing is stealing and regardless of the reason, punishment would seem to be the order of the day.
What we see in the story is called grace. Grace is when one in superior power shows kindness or mercy to one in a lesser position. Mayor LaGuardia, rather than demanding punishment of the woman herself, paid the fine and then further helped her cause with the collection of the fifty-cent fines and gave them to her. It was more than she deserved. It was grace.
It was something beautiful. God does that something beautiful in our lives because when he changes us – he does it completely – and he takes the rags and the proof of our sin, and all the junk in our past and he covers them with his grace. Church we must accept that grace in our lives – the choice to embrace him and the good things he has in store for us – over the temporary, short-term trappings that so clearly call our name. Listen when you accept grace – and choose to leave all the stuff behind – those who clocked in early will celebrate along with you.
Let’s pray
